This week's devotional is a continuation of our series titled "Having a Biblical Worldview." The lesson at hand will be addressing anti-Christ beliefs in this world that are being promoted by intolerant people towards Christianity. The unfortunate truth that we will expose in this study is that many believers have widely accepted much of the secular beliefs taught today; even to the point that it is rapidly shaping the worldviews within the church. For those of you who have been following this study with us we have begun the series using the Ten Commandments as the catalyst for bringing out God's original instructions for us to view the world which we live.
Some of these beliefs that we will be addressing today is how our culture is finding ways to rationalize homosexuality even to the point of giving it momentum in our society to where it is becoming more acceptable than it ever has before in the history of our country. We have all witnessed just how this lifestyle has been politicized as being something that has judicial rights likened unto a conservative family of one man and one woman in marriage to each other. Let me press this point even further though there are many that will not agree with it...homosexuality is not a political issue that you can legislate laws to protect its unnatural lifestyle of choice; it's a moral issue and God's Word clearly disapproves of it as being an acceptable act by His creation.
The bible is not silent on the issues of marriage and what a family really is to be like in its original design by God. Even more so God has never been apologetic in calling what a sin is even if the popular sentiment of the times has drifted far into another direction. The Scripture is God's timeless standard that never fades or ends. God's Word doesn't shrink back or change shape because of the sliding morals of our times. If there is no absolute truth to be found, then there can be nothing left but chaos in this life. Why? It is because everyone will do as they feel or want in life; and given that many variations of personal desires by the people certainly promises to create chaos at all levels in this world. Fortunately, God's Word is rock solid and trustworthy for those who place their trust in it. But I must warn you: declaring God's truth to a world that is bent on doing whatever they want in life; will certainly reveal the sobering intolerance of these people who otherwise promote tolerance for all people and religions except Christianity. Why? It is because Christianity is a divine position of absolute truths that is intolerant of other faiths that promote evil in any degree. This is why it is the most hated religion on the earth.
I wonder if you know what the non-believers favorite verse is from the bible. It can be found more specifically over in Matthew 7:1, "Judge not, that you be not judged." Obviously, these non-believers do not understand the contextual meaning of that passage due to their wrong usage of it when they choose to apply it. Unfortunately, there are many Christians that don't understand it either. The unbeliever always breaks this Scripture out when the believer points out something that is wrong or evil. It is here they will fire back: "Who are you to judge me; doesn't your bible teach, judge not lest you be judged?" It's here that many believers shrink back because they get confused for failure to know what God's Word is saying particularly regarding this passage in the bible. The best way I can bring this out into the open for you to grasp its truest meaning is to help you see the better translation of that word, judge. Of course the word that better describes what God means in this passage is the word, "condemn."
The reason that I say it like this is because other passages of the bible teaches us that we are to examine things closely or to make observant evaluations; or to be discerning; and "yes" even to make judgments.
1 Corinthians 6:2 (KJV)
2 Do ye not know that the saints shall judge the world? And if the world shall be judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters?
We are to judge, but never condemn; therefore this would be a better translation to what this passage in Matthew 7 teaches, "Condemn not, lest you be condemned!" You and I could never be in a position to ever condemn another person. But we are in a position to make judgments about things; about situations; about viewpoints; and even about people who don't like it when we have a biblical worldview that exposes their evil deeds. Therefore, with this as our backdrop let's deal with some of these anti-Christ beliefs that are shaping our cultures worldview that abandons the Christian faith and what it teaches. One of the greatest of all travesties is for a Christian to develop such a liberal mindset that accepts every thing based on the worlds interpretation; and to be more plain, this is where the Christian chooses to ignore the absolute truths of the bible and its holy standards, for a more tolerant modern view that accepts everything as being ok and permissible for the sake of peace and avoiding all possible conflicts with the people of this world.
Isaiah 5:20 (KJV)
20 Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
There is a great confusion in the church today because they can't seem to tell the difference in what is right and what is wrong. Why is that? It is because the church has adopted in many ways the world's view of how every person has a right to have what they want even at the expense of it destroying others. Christians often feel that since they are mandated to love their enemies (and the bible does teach that we are to do this), yet it doesn't say that we are to ignore living our lives as Christ did in righteousness that went about exposing evil wherever it may have existed; nor did He withhold speaking the truth of God's word in all venues of life without compromise because it might upset people. The bible teaches that we are to speak the truth in love. Love cannot be a true love if it withholds telling the truth that could save or help someone. There are way too many cowards in the body of Christ that hide their cowardice in the disguise of a false love. When it's all pealed back to see what's really going on in a truthful sense, you will discover that they just don't want to experience any conflict that challenges what they believe. Christians like this, often believe that looking the other way when something is wrong or someone is doing evil is showing God's love through their tolerance of what these evil-doers are committing. Look what the bible teaches:
Proverbs 27:5-6 (KJV)
5 Open rebuke is better than secret love.
6 Faithful are the wounds of a friend; but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful.
Salvation cannot be realized without a repentant heart that recognizes that they are a sinner and in need of God's forgiveness. However, in today's world everyone wants to be politically correct and not offend anyone. What about offending God? Does anyone acre about offending Him? Every person has a worldview. The question then is whether your worldview is a biblical one or not. As a Christian the objective of our calling is not to change the Bible to fit the changing culture, but we are to transform the changing culture to what the bible teaches.
Worldview #1 Family/Homosexuality
Exodus 20:12 (NLT)
12 "Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you.
We are now looking at the last six commandments to which deals with our relationship with others. The first four commandments dealt specifically with our relationship with God. Now, before God deals with how we should treat others, He starts with defining the family. The family is the most sacred community there is; which is probably the reason Satan fights it the hardest. The bible even teaches that one of the signs of the last days will be the breaking down of the family. So, here we find the fifth commandment that tells us that children must honor their father and mother.
2 Timothy 3:1 (Phillips)
1 But you must realize that in the last days the times will be full of danger. Men will become utterly self-centered, greedy for money, full of big words. They will be proud and contemptuous, without any regard for what their parents taught them. They will be utterly lacking in gratitude, purity and normal human affections. They will be men of unscrupulous speech and have no control of themselves. They will be passionate and unprincipled, treacherous, self-willed and conceited, loving all the time what gives them pleasure instead of loving God. They will maintain a facade of "religion", but their conduct will deny its validity. You must keep clear of people like this.
Here is God's word for a culture. Here is God's word for every society on the planet. Here is a word for you and me as believers in Christ: Honor your father and mother! Notice that it does not say, honor your father and father. It does not say, honor your mother and your other mother; or honor your mother and her live in lover! No! We are to honor our father and mother. When we tamper with God's template, we do it at our own destruction. The bible is very clear that same sex marriages or relationships among the same gender are not in God's original design. Therefore, allow me to make a pointed statement at this juncture of what we are teaching that is not going to sound politically correct at all: Homosexuality or alcoholism to name a few is not a disease! These are sin problems. Someone may say they were born gay. No! You weren't, you were born a sinner where you may actually have gay tendencies, but you were not born a homosexual. God has never made anyone out of its original design to be something else altogether differently. Our sin draws us into selective choices to which we act out our desires. I will acknowledge that you can be attracted to the same sex or more prone to be an alcoholic due to the environment you grew up in...yet all of these vices can be overcome by the Lord Jesus Christ if we will give Him our life.
James 1:13-14 (AMP)
13 Let no one say when he is tempted, I am tempted from God; for God is incapable of being tempted by [what is] evil and He Himself tempts no one.
14 But every person is tempted when he is drawn away, enticed and baited by his own evil desire (lust, passions).
If we remain with a skewed worldview because we refuse to uphold God's standards, then we will fail to see the added damage that we will contribute through our silence of speaking the truth.
1 Corinthians 6:9-12 (NLT)
9 Don't you realize that those who do wrong will not inherit the Kingdom of God? Don't fool yourselves. Those who indulge in sexual sin, or who worship idols, or commit adultery, or are male prostitutes, or practice homosexuality,
10 or are thieves, or greedy people, or drunkards, or are abusive, or cheat people-none of these will inherit the Kingdom of God.
11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
12 You say, "I am allowed to do anything"-but not everything is good for you. And even though "I am allowed to do anything," I must not become a slave to anything.
Therefore, with these Scriptures from God's Word in mind, note that God's order for the family is between one man and one woman faithfully committed to each other in a marriage. Children need to listen up too! You are to honor and obey your parents.
Colossians 3:20 (Phillips NT)
20 As for you children, your duty is to obey your parents, for at your age this is one of the best things you can do to show your love for God.
To quote Mark Twain, "When I was a boy of fourteen my father was so ignorant I could hardly stand to have the old man around; but when I turned twenty-one I was astonished at how much he had learned in seven years!"
Parents do know some things children; and more importantly they are stewards given to us from God to protect and guide us in wisdom that life may go well for us. Some children may present the question, "Well what if my parents are unbelievers, do I have to obey them." Yes, honor your father and mother. "What if they tell me to do something that goes against what God teaches from His Word?" It's here, that we must understand that there are times where one law supersedes another. For instance when the disciples were told it was illegal to preach about Jesus:
Acts 5:29 (KJV)
29 Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Without question, God is our ultimate authority, but under other circumstances...you must honor and obey your parents as much as possible. That is what the bible teaches.
Worldview #2 Abortion/Murder/Capital Punishment/Self-Defense
Our sixth commandment teaches that we are not to kill. This has created a great deal of problems for many believers in how they treat this passage from the bible. Let's tackle a few of these and see if we can rightly discern the meaning of this sixth commandment. Abortion is a very controversial issue today and for many believers their stance on this is often very weak due to their own perceptions rather than God's Word. Why? They fail to interpret the Scripture without allowing secular influences. Let's look at abortion.
In 1980 Ronald Reagan was running for president of the United States and he was asked to comment on abortion, this is what he said, "I noticed that everybody that is for abortion has already been born."
No matter what your stance may be on this hot topic of our day. God's Word is very clear, thou shalt not kill. This commandment deals with taking another life without any justifiable reason. Time restraints will not allow me to expound more on this; but the bible does not condemn all killing. A careful reading of Numbers 35 reveals there is a difference between killing and murder. It's true that murder is killing, but not all killing is necessarily murder. There are times when killing is permissible although it may not be desirable. A person may ask, then when is it permissible? How about when it's in self-defense, do you have a right to defend yourself? If someone broke into your house with the intent of murdering you and your family are you just going to stand there and say, Praise the Lord! I might cry out praise the Lord alright while at the same time I tell my wife to pass the ammunition. Some misinformed believers may say, that's not Scriptural...isn't it?
Luke 22:35-36 (NLT)
35 Then Jesus asked them, "When I sent you out to preach the Good News and you did not have money, a traveler's bag, or extra clothing, did you need anything?" "No," they replied.
36 "But now," he said, "take your money and a traveler's bag. And if you don't have a sword, sell your cloak and buy one!
I wonder why Jesus told them to buy a sword. I doubt it was to be used as a cutlery tool for preparing a meal. No! It was for protection and they had every right to defend themselves just as we do. Our country just a few years ago was struck by Islamic terrorists on 9/11 that murdered innocent adults along with children and we struck back with force...that was justifiable. When our Navy Seals took out the evil and murderous masterminded leader Osama Bin Laden a few months back...that was a justifiable killing. Some people believe strongly that all killing is sin. They say things like; if we kill them then we are just as bad as they are. That is plain stupid because there is no comparison between the two. This view is called: moral equivalency.
The biblical view is: one is a murderer while the other is defending itself. There are times when war is necessary but it is never desirable. We sometimes have to do what we have to do to defend human life. God has established laws to govern a society of people and those who break these laws will face the repercussion of doing so, and they consciously know it. For example: have you ever been speeding when you saw a patrol car and you immediately slowed down? Why did you slow down? You were conscious of the penalty for breaking the law. God has established the police and the military for good reasons according to Scripture.
Romans 13:1-4 (NLT)
1 Everyone must submit to governing authorities. For all authority comes from God, and those in positions of authority have been placed there by God.
2 So anyone who rebels against authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and they will be punished.
3 For the authorities do not strike fear in people who are doing right, but in those who are doing wrong. Would you like to live without fear of the authorities? Do what is right, and they will honor you.
4 The authorities are God's servants, sent for your good. But if you are doing wrong, of course you should be afraid, for they have the power to punish you. They are God's servants, sent for the very purpose of punishing those who do what is wrong.
This does not mean that everything a policeman or a soldier does is right. We have witnessed in the news how some of these can act in wrong ways. But the institutions established by God are for our protection. When we look at Exodus 20:13 it is not referencing the death of a dangerous animal, or an opponent in war, nor does it speak regarding the person being put to death through capital punishment of the state for a murderous crime that they committed. It is speaking against the unjustifiable killing of the innocent; this word "kill" would be better translated as committing murder.
Genesis 9:6 (NLT)
6 If anyone takes a human life, that person's life will also be taken by human hands. For God made human beings in his own image.
Isn't it an atrocity to see so many people who gather outside a prison in demonstration for the "right to life" regarding a criminal who took someone else's life? I would like to know who is standing up for the innocent person who was murdered by this criminal. These folks generally are seen holding up signs that we have all witnessed on the news that quotes a verse out of our bible: Thou shalt not kill. This just doesn't make much sense to me in light of the truth. What's even more puzzling is these same people are the very ones in favor of abortion. Now isn't that an oxymoron? They want to save the murderer and kill the innocent babies. Their excuse is that the baby is nothing more than a mass of tissue, or an embryo, or a fetus. Yet the Bible teaches very clearly that life begins at conception. These abortionists however believe it's not a human until birth...the bible says at conception. Look what David wrote in Psalm 139 about this idea of when conception really takes place.
Psalms 139:13-16 (NLT)
13 You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother's womb.
14 Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! Your workmanship is marvelous-how well I know it.
15 You watched me as I was being formed in utter seclusion, as I was woven together in the dark of the womb.
16 You saw me before I was born. Every day of my life was recorded in your book. Every moment was laid out before a single day had passed.
This perfectly shows that God has a plan for our lives even while we are tucked away in the womb.
Jeremiah 1:5 (NLT)
5 "I knew you before I formed you in your mother's womb. Before you were born I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations."
Therefore, I implore that God's Word teaches that every child no matter how it was conceived has a right to life. The bible does not say that God waited until you were born to have a plan for you because you are not a human yet. Abortion for many has become nothing more than a form of birth control. Million's of babies have been aborted since the passing of Roe vs. Wade. This has accumulated over 500 million dollars in revenue within the US alone, and 10 Billion worldwide and still growing.
Let me pose this scenario to you. If you being a mother saw your child run across the street into an oncoming car; would you not run over to them pushing them out of the way in order to save them? Would you not endanger yourself on their behalf? Of course you would! You wouldn't say that the mother's life was in danger and therefore let the child be killed. The parent lays down their life for the child, not the other way around. A decent parent would do it instinctively and they would not need to hear a message on it. Children are gifts of life even when they show up through the sins of adults that ignore God's truths. I personally was born without a father and my mother could have easily chosen to abort me due to the difficulty that it would bring to her life. However, she gave me a chance, and now my life is representing the King of all kings. My early days however did not reveal these things and at some points I'm sure that society would have agreed that maybe me being aborted would have been doing the world a favor. But my mother gave me a chance and God had a plan for this mistake that showed up through my mother's sin. Abortion is never acceptable in God's eyes.
If you become pregnant...if possible marry the father. If you can't do that than raise the child as a single mother...if you can't do that then give the child up for adoption. But abortion is never the solution. Now, if you have found yourself feeling the brunt of the subject matter to which we have been addressing I hope you will not allow it to become condemnation. That is not the reason or the point of this message that I am sharing. This is intended to raise the awareness of God's standard to which we are to live our lives by according to the Word. If you have violated any one of these things pointed out today, I pray that you will reach out to Jesus and receive forgiveness. This is God's reason for revealing His truth so that we can be restored from destructive life habits. God is faithful to forgive us of all our sins.
1 John 1:8-10 (NLT)
8 If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.
9 But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
10 If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.
My prayer is that all of us will see our need of Christ and His truths every day of our lives. Without Him we are sure to make many of these devastating mistakes where we will seek to justify them by adopting the modern and liberal worldviews as we wittingly try to remove God's standards or at least lower them so as to justify what we have done. To do this is to deceive ourselves and become blinded to the truth. Everything that opposes God's absolute truth is influenced through an anti-Christ spirit which it attempts to merge into our lives layers of anti-Christ beliefs that contradict who we are declared to be in Christ Jesus. God's Word is absolute truth and anything less is faulty, and therefore cannot be used to build a life successfully, God's way! God's forgiveness came to this world in the person of Jesus and He affords all of us to receive forgiveness and become a new person. I pray you will not allow the many anti-Christ beliefs that are in this world to weaken the biblical truth of who God declares and calls you to be.
John 8:31-32 (KJV)
31 Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;
32 And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.
